Even the Scary Ones
by Noah Percy
Summary: In Covington Wood, Cole comes face to face with what seems to be a very evil ghost. SixthSensexVillage crossover.
1. The Gift

**Disclaimer: **M. Night Shyamlan owns all characters you recognise.

**AN: **A plot bunny who refused to die.

**Even the Scary Ones.**

Chapter One- The Gift

Natural Resources, fifth period, with Ms. Cindi Walds, was bad enough in the classroom. Cole Sear wasn't sure, but he had a hunch that the computer designated to perform the task of classroom placement had it in for poor Walds. She was a good teacher with a merry laugh and a friendly smile, but throw in twenty eight raucous idiots and it went downhill from there.

Said raucous idiots were in all forms of idiot:

1. **Snob Idiots:** spoke loudly on cell phones while they were supposed to be learning about turkeys and drank five dollar mocha frappawhattas in a class that was food and drink free

2. **Drug Idiots: **were so burned out that they spent the entire hour laughing about the pronunciation of 'estuaries' (?)

3. **Never There Idiots: **No Information.

There were other types of idiots at Johnson High school, of course, but the afore mentioned categories were the greatest population in Room 304.

Cole and his one companion Francie Ents spent the class time rolling their eyes at the idiots and attempting to do their homework while dodging insults. Francie was the class Goth, therefore was laughed at for being too pale by the white guys blasting "Wankster" from their walk-man CD players. Cole was ridiculed for being odd. No one really knew why they made fun of him, but he was used to it by now, and it did not bother him anymore.

You see, Cole had a very special ability. He had the power to see ghosts- a sixth sense, if you will. He'd had it ever since he could remember, and it used to scare him horribly. The ghosts came to him looking and acting they did as they died. At a very young age, he had seen some of the most grotesque ways to be killed right in front of his eyes. In elementary school, he was an introvert and an oddity. He was teased and manipulated. But after an encounter with a caring and sensitive ghost named Doctor Malcolm Crowe in his eighth year, Cole gained control of his gift. He used it to help those who came to him, because as Crowe had told him, "even the scary ones" needed assistance.

Over the years, Cole had helped many ghosts. Some just wanted to talk, others needed messages carried to their loved ones, and many looked for advice. There were only a distinct few who were truly evil, and Cole did his best to avoid these spirits.

Only two people knew of his sixth sense: his mother and Francie. It had taken his mother a long time to understand it, but she now had a reason for certain mood swings and strange behaviors of Cole's, though she did catch on quite quickly when he began to tell her that ghosts were responsible for him not getting his homework done. Francie was fascinated with this talent, and often requested to perform rituals to speak to the dead at Cole's apartment. Lynn Sear was fond of Francie, but _not_ fond of _that_.

School was so much better now, since Cole had met Malcolm Crowe. It was still school, but Cole was receiving fairly good marks and he was no longer depressed.

Except on occasion, and today was one of those occasions. It was fifth period. It was fifth period and Francie was absent. It was fifth period, on a bus, on the way to the Walker Environmental Preserve.

_A nice quiet day observing wildlife with this crew?_

Cole begged to differ.


	2. Tommy Tomisino, Idiot of the Second Divi...

**Dedicated **to my Natural Resources teacher. Cole's class was ours.

**Chapter Two- Tommy Tomisino, Idiot of the First Division**

Someone was holding the head of a Ken doll out of the bus window.

Cole rested his head against the window and groaned. _Two hours with this mob. _

He had only decided to go on the field trip because Ms. Walds needed some sort of comfort, but now he was regretting it. He was almost sad that he would be missing sixth period, and that was depressing.

Sixth period was Math Skills.

Cole unzipped his backpack and decided to make the best of his time by finishing his history report. He once had been fortunate enough to meet up with the ghost of one of the first African American soldiers to serve in war. It made for a very interesting project, though Mr. Lawndale was confused as to where Cole had acquired the information. His brow furrowed, Cole tried to work on a concluding paragraph, but an irritating voice coming from the seat directly in front of him was making it hard to concentrate.

"No, I **told you **I have to go on this stupid field trip. **No, Mother, **I won't be home then. I have to go pick up Brandi and we're going to the studio. **I can't do chores when I have so many other things to do!**" Tom Tomisino snapped his tiny cell phone shut and made a face at the girl next to him. "Parents. She thinks she's allowed to run my life. I'm sorry, but cleaning up dishes is _not_ really my place. _Bitch._"

Sensing someone was staring at him, Tom turned around. A smirk grew on his pale, thin face. "What are _you _looking at? Missing your ugly girlfriend?" A few of his followers chuckled.

Cole kept pretending to write. It was never in his best interest to glorify Tommy's witless remarks with a response.

"Can't you hear me? **Freak.** Oh, damn it. We're here _all ready_?" Tommy whined and pounded the window.

Looking out at the world, Cole admired the high, emerald trees that reached for miles in the distance. The bus slowed down before tremendous gates that enclosed the property. A huge '**W**' was engraved on the top.

The guard in the booth checked them, and opened the gate. Cole was reminded of his father's girlfriend, a toll booth worker, and wondered if this guard was holding a full bladder.

Cole strained to see farther than the forest on his left side, but all that could be seen through the trees was a tiny bit of sunlight. Solid fences protected the forest.

_What on earth can we study here? This place is so well-protected! _Cole thought to himself, puzzled. There was something unsettling about it to Cole, though he doubted he would be visited by the apparition of some poor, dead creature. That was a depressing thought. Cole shook his head, knocking the sense of dread out of his mind.

He followed his fellow students out of the bus.

_"Shit!" _someone yelled from outside.

Ken had fallen out of their grasp, and had now been run over by the bus.

-INSIDE THE STATION-

"_Quietly_, now," advised Mrs. Walds, as the class wandered into the Ranger Station. Cole studied a display about littering, while Tommy wrote '**KILL THE ANIMALS**' on a wildlife poster with a Sharpie.

Cole made eye contact with Walds, and she came over. "I have no idea what I'd do without you, Cole," she told him. "I'm so glad you decided to tag along... I'd go crazy if I didn't have at least _one _kindred spirit."

He smiled weakly, and nodded. Poor Mrs. Walds.

"_Ahem. Uh- _Welcome," a voice trembled softly.

No one turned to look.

"Please!" the voice pleaded.

"Shhhhhh!" Mrs. Walds exclaimed loudly, spraying Cole with saliva on accident.

_"Thank you."_

Cole turned to face the speaker. He was a young man, most likely in his early twenties. He was dark and had large eyes, and was wearing a tan uniform. From his mannerisms, Cole augured that he was new at the job.

Now that he had half of the class was listening, the man continued to speak.

"Welcome to Walker Environmental Preserve," he stated, sounding as though he were reading off of some unseen cue card; his voice was hollow and monotone. "My name is Kevin Lupinski, and I will be guiding you today. We hope that you will enjoy your visit, but we must ask you to obey our rules..."

Cole's mind drifted off, as Lupinski went over the obvious things, like _no littering, no horse-play, no this, no that. _Rules so simple, yet Cole knew all ready that so many would be broken today.

**"No one goes into the woods."**

Lupinski's voice had suddenly become somber. Cole jumped a bit at these words, and noticed that a few of his classmates were now listening intently.

"Why not?" Tommy challenged, long legs crossed, leaning elegantly against a fire display.

Kevin's dark eyes flickered. _"It disturbs them,"_ was what he said.

"Remember, wild animals would be frightened easily if we were allowed to go into the restricted areas. And the trees could be hurt!" Mrs. Walds explained, obviously imagining trees with _Ken doll was here _scratched into their bark.

But Tommy laughed, unsatisfied. "It disturbs _who, _exactly? Do people live in there, or something?"

Laughter broke out. Cole smiled. It was kind of fun being with idiots sometimes. You had a laugh or two during the time you spent with them.

Kevin Lupinski, though, was not amused. In fact, he looked horrified. _"Look,"_ he said testily, venturing far from his Park Ranger Routine and looking Tommy warily in the eyes," my boss is very serious about keeping people out of the woods. So just- **don't.** "His eyes flashed. Cole had a pang of sympathy for this guy, who probably had to deal with tons of stupid kids every day, but wished he had a larger vocabulary.

Lupinski went on in his former tone, as Tommy smirked. _"What a fag!" _he told one of his henchmen. Sighing, Cole thought about how ironic it was that Tommy had never used that word until he was called that in the seventh grade. He'd felt sorry for him for awhile then, but that phase had passed.

"Now," Walds was saying, beaming at Kevin," pair up and you may be free to go." Cole shrugged, glad she wasn't picking teams, and grabbed a worksheet from her. He had to observe twenty things about the preserve, then write a paragraph about what he found interesting. _It shouldn't be too hard. Only an hour and fifty three minutes left._

He gave Lupinski a sensitive smile, but it was not returned. Obviously, this guy was having a bad week.

Cole began to write down observations in the Ranger Station, before venturing outside.


	3. Something's In There

Chapter Three: Something's In There

Cole tried his best to avoid human life as he shuffled about the preserve, taking in the information boards and models that were scattered around the station and outside it. The only problem was that nothing was _alive. _Well, besides grass, but who wants to study grass? Cole strained his eyes, looking down the path. It seemed to go on forever. How big _was _this preserve? And what were they protecting anyway?

Certainly not _grass._

Cole strolled a bit further. Signs were _everywhere, _he noticed. **Stay Out. Caution- DANGEROUS BEYOND THIS POINT! **He recalled the ranger's warnings about not going into the woods. He hated to admit it, but, beautiful as this place was, he did not have a very good feeling about it.

_There was a shuffling noise by the fence._

Cole whipped around. Maybe there _was _something to observe after all. He walked slowly toward the bridling fence, which stood at least three feet above him. No one had gone this far. His class was still observing next the station. He'd gone much further then he'd thought. Shadows danced upon the fence in the afternoon light, like someone motioning.

_Come in, come in._

There was a sign lettered in red, stuck in the gravel before the fence. Cole ignored it- there was something in there.

He treaded carefully to the fence. It was overgrown with ivy, but there was a place where he could almost see through. He pressed his face into chain link and he gaped through the tiny holes.

A low growling noise came through the wall.

Whatever it was stared right back at Cole, a dark shadow over him.

Cole gasped. He stepped back, tried to think. There was something in there- whether it was dead he wasn't quite certain yet, but he couldn't ignore the cold feeling in his stomach. He shook his head. He had no clue what it was. It seemed huge, for an animal, that is, but it hadn't sounded like... What? Cole shook his head. He probably hadn't even heard anything. _But his sixth sense had never failed him. _THIS WAS NOT A PERSON!

"Hey Cole."

"Tommy. I was just going back to class-"

"Not supposed to go in there, Cole. Didn't you hear Officer Weirdo? What's the matter, are you going to have one of your freak spells?"

Cole was positioned between the beast and Tommy, with a feeling of deja vue.

"Nah," he said calmly. "I was just taking a look. But, there's nothing here, so, I'm going to go back."

"You're such a goody-goody," commented Tommy snidely, rolling his eyes. Having lost interest, he wandered back to the station to cause more havoc.

Cole breathed a sigh, though he knew times were much different. The last time there had been a situation like this one, Cole had been face-to-face with an angry spirit. He did not want a repeat of that event.

He sighed. His curiosity was too much for him. If something was in there, he could see what kind of creatures were being preserved so well. Maybe one of them was hurt, he concluded. Cole looked behind him. It seemed that both Mrs. Walds and Ranger Lupinski had their hands full; one of his classmates had gone into the medicine shack near the station, and the class was being lectured.

The coast was clear, so Cole walked down about a mile further.

Cole took a breath, and then grabbed onto the chain link, hoisting himself up. He waited. They were far enough down the path that he wasn't heard yet. He took another step. One more would allow him a peek over the fence, and then he'd been finished here. He grabbed the top of the fence and looked down.

What he saw was the forest floor. Not extremely interesting. The trees were abundant, making the inside of the sanctuary very dark. The opening was nowhere in sight from here.

Without warning, the fence shook.

Cole tried to gaze behind him. "I'm sorry! I'll get down, I just- heard someone- something in here.. But it's nothing, I'll get-"

The fence continued to shake, first softly, and then _violently. _Cole tried to work his way down, but he could not move. He wanted to see what was doing it, _it must have been coming from the inside, _and now he was falling.

_Falling over the fence into the woods._

_Not supposed to be here._

It was forbidden.


	4. The Prickly Hairs on the Back of Your Ne...

Chapter Four: The Prickly Hairs on the Back of Your Neck

His back aching, Cole sat up. He was surrounded by tall, black trees, and fear struck him. His first thought was to just climb back over the wall. Groaning, he got to his feet. This was all so stupid. Why could he have just left whatever it was alone? But he'd had a feeling... It seemed like he was doing the right thing, but now he'd trespassed, and he'd get into trouble on top of everything else. Cole was almost to the fence when

_something grabbed him from behind._

Asside from the yelp he made when seized, Cole tried to make no sound. This thing _felt _human, at least. It held Cole with two arms wrapped around his chest, and judging from what Cole's head lay against, it was tall.

"What are you?" whispered Cole.

No reply. It breathed shallowly and quickly. Seemingly thinking, it loosened its grip.

Cole ran, not looking back.

The thing bellowed, and gave chase- Cole could hear it pounding against the muddy ground. Forgetting his destination out of pure dread, Cole turned unexpectedly and raced toward a nearby tree. He heard It waiting, listening. Summoning all of his courage, Cole turned around.

What he saw bewildered him.

Standing upright was what appeared to be a six-foot tall monster with porcipine quills on its back. Slolwy, it turned around. It was faceless. There was a black hole were there should be a head- it was a grotesquely frightening mask. A red cloak covered its shoulders, flowed from its back. It was like some sick Halloween prank reserved for a haunted house.

"HELLO!" Cole screamed.

It stood a little taller.

Wind whistled through the trees, and Cole knew the answer then, because he could see his breath, he could see it clearer than any time before.

_("It gets cold when they're mad.")_

Whoever it was had _died _in here.

_(.."cold when they're mad.")_

The monster made another yowling sound, took a step nearer.

_("You know those prickly hairs on the back of your neck?"_)

Cole should have never gone here. The monster was raising up its claws threateningly. _Who in their right mind would dress in something like this and chase people? Were they just having fun out here before they died?_ It didn't seem like fun. It seemed serious.

It was coming toward him now. This was a bad ghost. There were bad people, sick people, and they became tormented ghosts. Cole needed to leave before he got hurt.

_("that's **them**.")_

Another furious howl came from beneath the creature suit.

In his last moment of bravery, Cole took a step forward and pulled the crimson hood back.


	5. A Rupture

**AN: **No, I did not forget this story...

**Chapter Five: A Rupture**

In his last moment of bravery, Cole took a step forward and pulled the crimson hood back. His fingers shivered in the icy mist-like feeling around the beast. The thing emitted a cry that started muffled in its throat and then rose to an ear-shattering shout of protest. Cole's eyes were shut tight, an involuntary reaction. Slowly, when he had removed the hood, he opened them and stumbled backward.

Cole was staring into the face of a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, perhaps early thirties. His face was pale and gaunt. His eyes were large and almost black, with long, dark lashes. Lank, damp brown hair fell around his shoulders. All in all he was handsome, but upon his face was an expression of panic. In comparison to the child-scaring, slasher movie mask-wearing hooligan Cole had imagined was underneath the disguise, this man seemed docile. He stared wonderingly at Cole, blinking rapidly, his body rocking slightly to and fro.

"_Aih_-" he began.

Cole cringed. His voice was a rasp, quiet and stony.

"_Aih-ee-" _he tried again and choked. "**Aih-ee-vee- Ivy. **_Ivy. Whu- where- where is- Aih-ee-" _he stopped again and gagged blaringly, his hands shaking as though enduring a seizure, his eyes wide in terror. He bent over and gave a final cough. A disgusting sound took place, a heave, and the man slowly raised up his face, eyebrows raised in substantial shame.

A long dribble of dark blood burbled out of the right side of his mouth like thick, red drool.

"Are you…" Cole had begun to ask if the man was all right, but deemed that it would invoke a much-deserved angry response ("to **hell **I'm all right!"), and trailed off. He was wondering just exactly what to say when the man winced and grabbed his backside.

"**Ow**," he said simply, made a face and turned around, pointing.

The back of the costume was decorated in long spikes, which seemed to be constructed out of very well- sanded pieces of wood, thick and glassy at the ends where they were sewn (or connected somehow to the red material) and thin and knife- sharp at the tips. This seemed to be where the problem was, for at least three of the spikes, being curved, were _inside _the man's back. Black blood splotches soaked him.

Cole wondered where to begin- this certainly was not the typical ghost. For one, this was no gun shot or knife-wound, which Cole had seen before, and had at least been able to understand. Secondly, why was he _here? _And last of all, he seemed to have some sort of speech impediment, which was worthy of recognition but it was a mystery as to how this all fit together.

"What is your name?" Cole finally inquired. This was a tried and true conversation starter. People liked talking about themselves and ghosts were no different.

The man turned around again and stared at Cole. "No-ah Rob-ert Per-cee," he articulated slowly and stopped. "Who…?" he pointed to Cole, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh… My name is Cole Sear. I might- might be able to help you," he replied. It was now clear to him that Noah was mentally handicapped in some way- his speech, his mannerisms and the long pauses between his words pointed to this conclusion. "What happened?"

"I am not supposed to. Be in here, but Ivy… makes it so," he finished, a little darkly. He appeared to be annoyed slightly, and looked from side to side. "Where is Ivy?" he demanded.

"I don't know, I'm not sure-"

"**Where is Ivy**?" Noah shouted, and raised the creature claws threateningly, his breathing becoming loud, the sound sickening due to the holes in him.

"**No, **_Stop it!" _Cole cried out.

Noah obediently stopped and dropped down to his knees. "I'm so sorry, I don't wan' to go!"

"Huh?"

"I don't want to go to the quiet- you, you tell Papa I stopped, then I think that it's all right. Ivy _always _says it's all right except… not now." He shook his head, raised his hand to his mouth and wiped the blood, smearing it across his cheek.

"Who is Ivy?"

"Ivy is mine," he said pleasantly, and stood up, his fear of "the quiet" apparently forgotten. "We have fun. We run races. She always cheats- it is funny." He smiled slightly at the thought.

Cole laughed. "She _cheats_?"

"Yes, and sometimes, I can kiss her. If she says." He stopped for a moment and then raised his hand and shook his blood-tinted finger. "_Only _if she says."

Cole thought a moment. "Why are you hurt?"

Noah made a face and shrugged. "I was bad. I am not supposed to be here, but I-I-I tried to go home yet no one saw. Everybody is maybe, ang-, anger-ee? at Noah. No one makes a sound to me. Ivy keeps to Lucius. I believe it is my punishment," he said firmly. "I found a way here. I made my own bad color. I went to find Ivy. She didn't like that."

'_What a horrible feeling,' _Cole thought. He had wondered about it before. '_To be dead and not know, and to try and speak to everyone from your life. To feel as though everyone hates you.' _He attempted to keep up with the story. "Who is Lucius?"

"Lucius Hunt was Ivy's friend, but now, he wants to have her. I **do not like it**," Noah exclaimed. "I went where Papa says no and I took the knife to Lucius. Only because Ivy is mine and they should not marry."

"Did you _kill him_?"

"No!" Noah sniffled, eyes helpless. "I did not mean- only for Ivy- I meant- it's just like the animals for my bad color. I had to." He gestured to the front of the creature suit, which Cole now noticed was adorned in feathers and bones, almost tribally.

"So, you made this out of _animals?_"

"Sure. It's secret."

Cole bit his lip. That was a bit drastic. "Was it for Halloween?"

Noah looked lost, and ignored the question. "I only wanted Ivy, I didn't mean to be bad. You'll tell Mama, Papa, Mister Wall-ker, and Ivy? Lucius?"

"I can _try_," Cole stated, wondering if this would ever make any sense. "Could you tell me where you live?"

Pointing straight ahead, Noah said simply," There."

"What?" Cole tried to make out something besides trees.

Impatient, Noah frowned. "Well, you have to _walk _and it's a _white house_."

"And it's through the trees?"

"**Yes!**"

"Okay! Okay. Just a second." Cole walked back to the fence and peered through. From what he could hear and make out, everyone was still wandering about. He turned around and jumped. Noah was standing right before him, eyes wide and vigilant.

"Now?"

"Yes."


End file.
